--- description: The New York governor will be meeting senior officials for counterterrorism briefings title: Cuomo Makes Surprise Visit to Afghanistan image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaddac5acd38fbcb3/6986a5b6f983e7635804fe50/andrew-cuomo.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [States](/tag/states/) ## States Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # NY Gov. Cuomo Makes Surprise Afghanistan Visit by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 27, 2014 6:34 PM CUT  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks to hotel workers at the Hotel Trade Council during a reelection campaign event on September 8, 2014 in New York City. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks to hotel workers at the Hotel Trade Council during a reelection campaign event on September 8, 2014 in New York City.Andrew Burton—Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 27, 2014 6:34 PM CUT New York Governor Andrew Cuomo arrived in Afghanistan Saturday on a surprise trip with other governors and Defense Department officials. While in the country, Cuomo will receive briefings on counterterrorism and meet with American troops in the country. Cuomo, who is traveling with Gov. William E. Haslam (Tennessee), Gov. Jeremiah W. Nixon (Missouri) and Gov. Brian E. Sandoval (Nevada), will be briefed by senior U.S. Department of Defense officials on counterterrorism issues that affect New York’s security, Cuomo’s office [said](https://time.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post%5Ftype=post "undefined"). He’ll also be visiting some of the 270 members of the New York National Guard who are currently deployed in Afghanistan. “During a period of heightened security concerns, we are working closely with our federal partners to increase preparedness at home in New York and protect our citizens from the threat of global terrorism,” said Governor Cuomo. “At the same time, we must never forget the continuing courage and sacrifice of the members of our military serving overseas, who have dedicated their lives to defending our country.” This is Cuomo’s second trip abroad in recent months, coming after his August visit to Israel. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3437585/cuomo-afghanistan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3437585/cuomo-afghanistan/"},"headline":"NY Gov. Cuomo Makes Surprise Afghanistan Visit","datePublished":"2014-09-27T18:34:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:27:11.145Z","description":"The New York governor will be meeting senior officials for counterterrorism briefings","url":"https://time.com/3437585/cuomo-afghanistan/","keywords":["States"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaddac5acd38fbcb3/6986a5b6f983e7635804fe50/andrew-cuomo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaddac5acd38fbcb3/6986a5b6f983e7635804fe50/andrew-cuomo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Governor Cuomo Attends A Get Out The Vote Rally In Times Square Ahead Of State's Primary","caption":"Governor Cuomo Attends A Get Out The Vote Rally In Times Square Ahead Of State's Primary","creditText":"Andrew Burton—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/states/","name":"States"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3437585/cuomo-afghanistan/","name":"NY Gov. Cuomo Makes Surprise Afghanistan Visit"}}]}] ```